On the home front


It’s hard to believe that one week from now I will be packing my bags up and preparing to leave the coast of the Black Sea and head back to America.
Without a question I have enjoyed this experience. I’ve learned the bus routes I need to get from place to place, I’ve memorized my internet passwords, I’ve found the best spots to stand to see as much as I can and I’ve met some pretty nice people.
Of course, I know this would never be possible without the help of so many people, people who were there to lend me a hand when the opportunity came up for me to pursue this once-in-a-lifetime chance.
At the same time, part of me is missing the stuff going on back home. Of course, last week was the state championship ski meets, a week that I usually spend out on the slopes covering a number of championships. This year, four of my local teams have won state championships in the past week, with the Division II girls having to wait a while before they crown their champ, thanks to the weather.
It was obviously tough to miss the Kingswood Nordic girls winning the school’s first title in any sport in the time that I’ve been at my job. I knew they had a very good chance to take the title this year and I was hoping that a great group of girls would get the well-deserved win.
And of course, the same day, the Kennett Nordic boys were also winning another championship. These boys are like a fine-tuned machine, they just know how to ski and they know how to win and its fun to watch.
I am grateful for Kathy Sutherland being there to capture their moments of glory.
A day earlier, two more championships were won by local teams. The Prospect Mountain alpine girls fought off a tough Bishop Brady squad to bring home the school’s first alpine ski division championship. Thankfully, Jeff Lajoie was there to get some photos for me.
Also on Tuesday, the Kennett boys won another alpine championship, cruising to victory at Waterville Valley (thanks Kirsten Gehl for sending in pictures). This has become a regular tradition on the slopes of New Hampshire, but it’s still always fun to see a championship.
So, congratulations to the teams back home. It’s great to see more championships residing in my coverage area. I look forward to getting back to it in a week or so.
And I really look forward to Mountain Dew. Everything here is Coke. I badly miss my Mountain Dew.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

That. Was. Not. Fun.

Image
The idea was impressive. The thinking was outside of the box. The work that was put in was impressive. And the final result surely looked amazing on television. But the execution? That left a lot to be desired, at least on the part of members of the media that were there to cover the unique Opening Ceremony that the Paris organizers planned. As most people probably know, the Paris 2024 organizers decided to bring the Opening Ceremony out of the stadium and have the athletes float along the River Seine through the center of Paris, with various performances happening along the banks and a final ceremony at the Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower. The plan was fantastic. First and foremost, the organizers did not have any transportation planned for the media who were not at the Trocadero. Those who were there had buses leaving from the Main Press Center and International Broadcasting Center to deliver them to that location amidst all of the security closures. The rest of the press was asked t...
Read more

A quick Opening Ceremony update

Image
Well, after more than an hour of walking, I reached the location where my ticket said I could be for the Opening Ceremony.  Yes, I walked an hour. There was the option of taking the subway, but I thought I might see more if I took the walking tour of Paris. From the media center, the walk brought me down past the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs Elysees and eventually to the Louvre, where my entrance is supposed to be. I saw all those places when I was here in 2002, but it had been a long time. I am pretty sure there was no Five Guys on the Champs Elysees when I was here back then. However, once I got to the gate location, there was no gate. My guess is it will be opening up shortly, but right now there is just a lot of barricades and guys with guns. For now, I am sitting along the Seine waiting for the chance to get in... And of course it is starting to rain. More updates to come.  The Opening Ceremony is coming.
Read more

One day, one venue

Image
I have made a habit over my time covering the Olympics to try and get to lots of different events and venues. Most of the time that involves going from venue to venue in a single day. Yesterday I was at rowing, then on to soccer and then finished up at track. Rarely does it happen that I spend one day in one venue. Today, however, was that day. I woke up wanting to head to the Stade de France for some track action. I wanted to see Gabby Douglas compete in the first round of the 200 meters. My hope was to get a quote or two from Gabby after the competition to send to my former colleague, Jeff Lajoie, who works for a paper in her hometown area of Massachusetts. I made my way down to the press mixed zone, where athletes come through after their events to talk to the media. However, Gabby walked right through the mixed zone without talking to anyone (she did do a TV interview in the broadcast mixed zone), so I left without a quote, which was kind of a bummer. My original plan was to possib...
Read more